Excitement Travels
by Two-spirits
Summary: Clarke heads to the local bar to unwind after a heavy a day of unpacking. Her first night out in the new town leads to meeting Lexa, the owner of her new favorite bar. Sparks fly but indulging in their feelings may come with heavy consequences. AU
1. The Beautiful Strangers

It's a snowy winters night in Asheville, NC. The air is cold, crisp and pregnant with potential. Large white snowflakes are cheerfully yet hesitantly floating down from the gray, cloudy, starless sky. Holiday music is bleeding onto the streets. 3 weeks before Christmas and some people want to make other people bleed at this point. Mid-December marks the period of the holidays where if you were short of the Christmas spirit before, you're completely devoid of it now and ready to rip it from anyone who still has it.

Everyone is bustling and often grumbling about looking for gifts. Perfect, last minute, and otherwise. Kids are tugging at their parent's coats, pointing to the store front windows that showcase the toys that will make their lives infinitely better… and most certainly the favorite among their friends. _Finally!_ Parents are nodding to each other in knowing agreeance as they stop at the liquor store with the eggnog and bourbon on sale. _Two of everything, please!_ Norman Rockwell on speed… and whiskey.

A deep blue jeep wrangler pulls into an open parking spot in front of Bunnies and Puppies, a popular hot spot the townies lovingly refer to as: 'The Hare of The Dog". A strikingly gorgeous blonde in skintight black jeans and calf high black lace up boots steps out of the truck. She is bundled in a blue scarf, black and blue leather jacket lined with fleece and a black knit hat.

Her sky blue eyes scan the building to make sure this is the correct place. Once she sees that it is, she gives a little shudder from the cold and quickly makes her way to the door and bursts through. All eyes are on her for a second (she always did know how to make an entrance) but they quickly go back to their private conversations.

An obscure Christmas song is playing softly from the speakers and she is very impressed. She smirks with approval then heads to the bar and takes the first open stool she sees.

As could be expected, it isn't terribly crowded, though there are more people than she thought there would be. Half of the customers are hovering around the roaring fireplace while the rest are scattered into small groups.

White Christmas lights wrap tastefully around the baseboards. A few garlands and mistletoes hang in the doorways, but nothing too gaudy. The soft orange lighting is warm and inviting. Gracefully straddling sterile and homey, this is definitely her new favorite place. She had been unpacking all day and was told that this will be the perfect spot to unwind.

* * *

The bartender notices his latest arrival and saunters over to the attractive new customer.

"Good evening" he smiles as he gently rings the dishtowel in his hands. "What would you like to drink on this fine winters night?" seduction cautiously coating his eyes.

"I'll have an extra dirty martini on the rocks. Thanks." she says, ignoring his subtle flirtation.

"What kind of vodka?"

"Surprise me."

"You got it. Coming right up." He throws the dishtowel he was holding over his shoulder and begins to make her drink without losing eye contact. "So, thanks for coming out tonight. I thought I was going to be dead in the water for tips." He thinks about it for a second and then corrects himself with a laugh. "Dead in the _snow_ I mean."

She can't help but roll her eyes and laugh. "Good one." She replies with forced politeness.

The bartender is looking around for something that he can't seem to find. He leans in close to her from the other side of the bar and says in almost a whisper. "I'll be right back. I am missing a piece for your drink."

"A piece? Oh, okay. No problem." She waves him off. She doesn't even want to know. The less encouragement the better.

She takes this free moment to look around the room some more. She notices a man with a gray felt fedora sitting in one of the leather chairs. He is speaking very passionately to a curly haired brunette with a fancy looking drink in her hand. She is very intrigued with what her drinking companion has to say.

Next she inspects the group of people hovering in front of the fireplace. A few of them keep looking up at her. She thought she was imagining it at first, but no, she wasn't. They are definitely talking about her. It's not as subtle as they might think. Or perhaps they have no interest in being subtle. That is a distinct possibility.

For some reason she feels the need to further investigate their faces. She is looking at them up and down, chin to forehead. She's never looked at people in such a manner and is finding it rather enjoyable. _It's a game!_ She makes it to the last face of the group and her breath catches when she is startled to see eyes looking just as curiously back at her.

She jumps and then grimaces when she is shaken out of the eye lock. "Okay! I'm back. Miss me?"

She swirls around in her bar stool, facing the bartender again. She raises her eyebrows and lips in a sarcastic smile. "Oh yes. Immensely."

The bartender is nice enough but she is so not interested. He is much more brawny and masculine than what she usually goes for. Nope, not her box of Cheerios. _Sorry guy._ Come to think of it, she knows exactly who goes for his type. She makes a note in her phone: _Octavia- found the perfect dude. Make sure he's not a total creeper._ Because for Octavia, half creeper's were sometimes alright.

"For you." He hands her a single rose. She hesitantly grabs for it and responds with tentative appreciation. "Oh goodness. You, uh, didn't have to go to the trouble."

"No trouble at all. I snagged it from one of the tables." He says with a wink.

"You're a risk taker, I'll give you that." She says, only slightly annoyed and now more entertained than anything.

He shrugs his shoulder and raises his arms in a _what can I say?_ gesture. "I presume you are new to town since this is the first time I've ever seen you here." He says curiously, still hell bent on trying to see this gorgeous addition to his bar outside of work.

She decides it's time to nip this rose in bud. "What? I was just in here the other night?"

"You were?! When?"

"Um, I believe it was last Tuesday?"

"Figures. I wasn't working that night."

"Yeah, figures." The blonde smirks with the satisfaction that she ever so furtively poked holes in his theory. "See? Not necessarily new in town." She was so new.

The bartender is starting to rethink his pursuit of this girl. It was becoming clear that she is not interested in him. "Right." He musters up half a smile and puts the ordered drink in front of her. "$8.50"

The attractive, detail-loving, point-proving customer whistles and shakes her head from side to side as she reaches for her wallet. She pulls out her credit card and gives it to the now frowning bartender, suddenly eager to help anyone else but this woman.

He finds himself actually looking forward to seeing the old man who comes in on Wednesday nights and constantly talks bout his alien abduction while blowing his nose each time he says … _and then right up my left nostril they went... I tell ya!_

They were both suddenly jarred from their separate thoughts _._

 _"_ _Lincoln, this one's on me."_

The blonde's head whips around to see where this soft, confidant voice with all the power is coming from. Standing behind her is the dashingly beautiful brunette woman she made eye contact with earlier.

The blonde is confused but something inside her starts to stir. Her brows are furrowed but her eyes are glowing. "Oh. You don't have to do that."

She is suddenly concerned for Lincoln. She looks over at him to see his head down, staring at the bar. His face has paled significantly and the bravado that previously filled his eyes has been replaced with cold fear.

"Yes, I do. Lincoln knows not to flirt with certain clientele." The brunette shoots him a glare that makes the towering bartender shrink by two inches at least. "Because of his behavior, every drink tonight is on the house and his tips will be cut in half."

Lincoln lets out a small sigh and the blonde let's out a small gasp.

"Oh. That's not necessary. Really, I'm fine. His tips are already on _thin ice_." She says in a dramatic voice, as if she were on stage doing one-liners for comedy hour. She looks over at Lincoln, proud of herself at matching his corny pun from earlier. Her hopes of lightening the mood are dashed when he barely smiles and continues looking down at the bar.

The brunette does not budge a smile. "It is done." She waves her hand to signify the finality of the matter and Lincoln quickly hands the card back to the blonde. "Have a wonderful evening." She says as she turns and walks away.

The blonde watches her head back towards the fireplace crowd. She turns to face the bar and bows her head to stare at the now paid-for drink.

She is not quite sure what just happened and she's not sure if she's okay with it. She won't deny that she is now thoroughly entranced and wants to learn more about this woman. There was a twinkle in the green of the brunette's eyes that she can't shake from her mind.

She lifts her gaze from the bar and turns her attention to Lincoln. He is busying himself, cleaning glasses and avoiding all contact with her. She waves her arm in the air casually (trying to hold back the frantic feeling) hoping to catch his eye. She aims to get his attention again because she knows that he holds answers that she now must have.

He lifts his head and looks at her. She is relieved when he begins to walk over. She is taken aback when he becomes much more matter-of-fact than he had been all night. "Yes, ma'am? Would you like something else?"

She is surprised by this sudden change but she does prefer it to the other version. _A rose? Really?_ "Uh. Yes. Will you please tell me about the woman who just bought my drinks? And what she meant by 'certain clientele'?"

"Her name is Lexa. She is the owner. She means an unwelcome advance. I came onto you first." His eyes fell to the bar again.

"How could she tell?"

Lincoln shrugs and looks back up at the blonde. "I imagine it had something to do with the rose I gave you and the cold shoulder you gave me."

She couldn't help but let out a hardy laugh at that. "Yeah. That's all true." She thought for a moment before saying, "Well, I might know someone who would gladly start flirting with you first." That seemed to lift his mood a bit but he didn't take the bait as she thought he would.

"That's nice of you, but it's fine. I don't even know what got into me tonight. I do apologize."

She lifts up one shoulder to her ear. "Eh, don't sweat it. We've all been there. I have a feeling you're a good fit for my friend but I'm going to need to ask you some more questions first. Get to know you. Just in case you're some demented pervert who has just been let out on patrol."

His face is very serious when he says, "I assure you, I am no such thing."

She expected him to laugh and not take on such a somber tone, but she can see the sincerity in his eyes.

"Okay, okay. Good, good." She scrunches her face in exaggerated seriousness.

"You can ask Lexa. She'll vouch for me."

Her heart beats quickly at the suggestion. "Even after the 'half the tips' thing?"

He nods and closes his eyes. "Yes."

The thought of going to speak to the brunette makes the blonde's stomach sink as if she had just driven down an extremely steep hill. She wants nothing more than to go speak with Lexa and she now has two reasons. The first being that she had to thank her again for the drinks, of course.

"Yes, I think I will do that. Thank you so much for that tip, Lincoln" She says as she starts to swivel around in her bar stool. Lincoln nods and lets half a smile break from his face. That is the first smile she's seen since 'the incident' and feels pleased. She likes it when everyone is happy and getting along.

She motions towards her jacket that is now placed atop the bar. "Can you please watch this for me?"

"No problem." He takes the jacket and puts it behind the bar.

"Thanks." She turns to face the small sea of people. The place has grown with more heads since she last purveyed the landscape. It is a Friday after all. The small clique near the fireplace has multiplied into small archipelagos, making it harder to make out faces.

She stares into the crowd and desperately looks for the eyes that literally took her breath away. Once she finds her mark, she takes a deep, steadying inhale and slowly exhales as she peels herself from her seat. She carefully begins to sift her way through, keeping her eyes locked on Lexa.

It's time for a proper introduction.


	2. The Weather

_**A/N Thanks so much for the interest in this story! I wrote this chapter to the song Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran. I highly recommend listening to it while reading. Enjoy!**_

* * *

It's time for a proper introduction.

The blonde's heart is racing as her eyes flit from Lexa to the window exposing the current elements. The snow has not slowed and it's going to be hard to drive in a couple of hours. The blonde makes a mental note not to linger long. _Finish your drink and then leave!_

As she approaches Lexa, the brunette looks up from her conversation and holds her gaze. She lets a small smile fall over her face before graciously bowing out of the discussion she's having. Lexa locks eyes again with the blonde and walks towards the customer she saved from Lincoln.

She knows Lincoln meant no harm. He is a playful flirt and on the rare occasion, he forgets himself. That being said, there is nothing that will change how strongly she feels that all customers are to be treated the way they desire.

Deflecting an unwanted advance is exhausting and not everyone comes to a bar to meet someone. Some people just want a drink and a moment to think. If they're in the mood to carry on, then Lincoln can by all means have some harmless fun.

No touching though. This is a classy establishment with boundaries and standards. End of discussion.

* * *

Lexa looks at the her gently with slate green eyes and the blue-eyed blonde feels her heart beat and throb in her throat.

Lexa bows her head slightly in familiar acknowledgement. "Hello again. Everything alright?"

 _She is very protective of her customers,_ the blonde thinks to herself. She's confidant that Lexa is like this with everyone, but she finds herself hoping the special treatment is for her and her only.

The feeling bubbles up inside her and bottlenecks at her tongue. "Oh, yes. Hello. Fine. Everything is fine. I, I just wanted to say thank you again. For the drink."

"You're welcome again. For the drink." Lexa's mouth was straight and serious but her eyes were attentive and warm.

"And I wanted to let you know who I am."

Lexa tilted her head curiously with half a smirk. "And who are you?"

 _Oh my god. You are such an idiot. Pull yourself together, Clarke._

"I'm Clarke." A nervous, steadying smile across her face as she reaches out her hand towards the brunette.

Lexa takes her hand and shakes it slowly and with intention. "Lexa." She says as she dips her head in respect again, hiding the huge grin plastering her face. When she raises her head, the grin is all but gone.

The touch of Lexa's hand sends a hot, exhilarating rush through Clarke's body, so understandably, she doesn't want to let it go. When their contact does break after what feels like minutes, Clarke's hand feels icy, cold, alone.

They stand looking at each other in awkward silence, struggling with wanting to both toe the line and speed right past it.

Hoping to savor this moment for as long as possible, Clarke breaks the quiet with the first discussable subject she can think of: the weather. The subject small talk was built upon.

"I'm surprised it's so crowded given the amount of snow falling. It's going to be treacherous to drive shortly."

Lexa's eyes span around the room and return to meet Clarke's. "Yes. Most that are left either live within walking distance or have a 4x4."

"Do you live within walking distance?" Clarke asks, surprising herself with such forwardness but she is greedy for all the information this woman is willing to feed her.

"I do not. I am in the 4x4 camp." She smiled. "Which camp are you in?"

"4x4."

A small smile comes over Lexa's face. "Well, I hope you don't live far."

"Not too far. About 10 minutes or so."

Lexa nods. "Me too."

The tension between the two women grows every second that passes. They are nervous with one another yet there is an underlying comfort that can clearly be felt.

"I love Christmas." Clarke gushes as her eyes take in the slight touches of the holiday that are peppered around the bar.

"Then you should come to the Christmas party we're having here on the 21st." A silent pleading in her eyes. Lexa adds, "It's an annual tradition and I think you will be very pleased. There will be more Christmas then you know what to do with."

Clarke laughs gently as she catches the silent request. "I would love to. Sounds amazing." Her eyes promising that she will be anywhere Lexa wishes her to be.

The brunette smiles a radiant smile that nearly blinds Clarke. Her heart is still in her throat and beats feverishly to make it's way out, desperate to escape Clarke's body and jump into Lexa's mouth. Wanting to devour the gorgeous, strong, kind, elegant, sexy woman standing in front of her.

 _Lexa!_

Both women startle out of the tense and wonderful moment to turn and see a tall blonde woman waving for Lexa to come over to her.

Lexa gives a nod of understanding and puts her hand up with her pointer finger out, signifying she needs one more minute.

Lexa turns to face the blonde in front of her. "Well, Clarke, looks like it's time for me to leave. It was a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to our paths crossing again. Hopefully that will be in a few weeks."

"Me too. Great meeting you as well. It will be. I'll be there. Here. I'll be here." She shakes her head and smiles, amused at her own ridiculous behavior. _Giddy school girl._

They shake hands once more and once more the heat builds up in Clarke's cheeks. Oh sweet, smoldering heat.

* * *

After saying goodbye to Lexa, Clarke takes her time making her way back up to the bar. She is in a daze and doesn't want to shake herself out of it just yet. She can't seem to stop smiling and she doesn't want to. It's been a very long time since someone has made her blood rush like this.

Lincoln sees her coming and has her jacket waiting for her. Once she reaches the bar, he anxiously asks, "Did she vouch for me?" Clarke can't help but find his eagerness is endearing at this point.

Before Clarke can answer, she sees Lexa walking towards the door. The tall lanky blonde that called for her has an arm around her waist. Lexa gives the woman a smile and she in turn gives her a kiss on the lips.

Clarke takes this in with a hard, puncturing swallow. Her heart no longer in her throat, it is now at the bottom of her boot, slowly, viscously being crushed into a million, tiny, devastated pieces.

Clarke looks at Lincoln for half a second and then focuses back on Lexa and the mysterious blonde. She's speaking to him but still entranced at the exit. "Oh, no. I'm sorry. I… forgot."

She makes full eye contact with him and directs her eyes back to the door, intending him to follow. "Hey, who is that blonde with Lexa?"

"That's Costia, Lexa's wife."

 _Fuuuuuck._ "Of course it is." She says mostly to herself in a barely audible murmur.

"Have they been married long?" Not like it matters.

"4 years."

Clarke takes a large gulp of her drink to finish it off. She's ready to call it night after that glorious buzz kill. She slinks off the stool, barely motivated to move but manages to land on her feet and get her jacket on.

She turns to Lincoln with a huge sigh of defeat. She is not sure how true her next words are. "See you at the Christmas party."

Lincoln gives her a soft smile. "Yeah. See you there. With your friend?"

"With my friend." She says as she forces the smallest of smiles and tries to hide how deflated she feels. There really is no hiding it. Clarke wears her heart on her sleeve… and her face.

She gives him a generous tip and with her head hanging, makes her way to the door. _Why the hell do I care so much? She's nice and all, but shit. Come on, now._

The cold blast that greets her is refreshing and welcome. Her blazing cheeks begin to cool and she is able to take steadier breaths.

Once she is in her truck, she leans her head back to take in the entire night in a few deep, healing breaths. She takes one last deep inhale and after she lets it all it out, she says aloud, "Fuck it."

With that, she turns on the ignition, carefully pulls out into the road and heads home.


	3. The Morning After

_**A/N: So sorry for the delay all! I used Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machines for this chapter. Have fun!**_

* * *

Clarke awakens to the sound of the coffee grinder. Still adjusting to her new surroundings, she takes a minute to lie there and reflect on last night's events. She stares up at the ceiling and barely blinks, as she gets lost in the thought of Lexa's warm eyes. So deep. So sincere. So damn sexy.

She thinks of all the ways she made her feel. _So many ways._ She thinks of the way her body moved. Such confidence and grace. The sound of her voice. Her curves. The woman was dripping with sexuality and Clarke wanted to clean up the beautiful mess.

Clarke's stomach does a hundred summersaults as her hips start to move on their own, slowly thrusting into the blanket. She checks to make sure that the door is shut. It is. She slowly bites her bottom lip as she moves her hand beneath her waistband. Her fingers slip through the throbbing, wet area between her legs. She focuses on Lexa. Her face, her hair, her lips. _Those lips._ Those juicy lips that beg to be sucked on by blonde women named Clarke.

In her fantasy, Clarke grabs a fistful of Lexa's hair and draws her close to meet her with a kiss. Lexa is startled but quickly gives into it. Returning the kiss with twice the intensity. Her tongue explores Clarke's mouth feverishly while Clarke thrusts her tongue back into Lexa's mouth.

Clarke's hand begins to pick up speed. Licking her lips as she moves her other hand to her nipple and starts to tug gently on it. Her hips thrust stronger and her hand moves even more rapidly as if she must finish before she ruins it with the thought of… Costia.

 _Shit._ Costia. She shoves her way into Clarke's mind. Clarke pushes her out long enough to complete the fantasy. She mutes her thoughts as she brings herself to climax. Her body is satisfied but her heart is heavy. Her stomach sinks down a hundred mile long oblivion.

She lies in bed long enough to soak up the last bits of pleasure her body is willing to give her. When she is ready, she forces herself into a seated position on the bed, her feet touching the floor.

She takes one more moment to take it all in, her elbows on her thighs and head heavy in her hands. She takes a deep cleansing breath, rubs her sleepy eyes, stands up and heads towards the kitchen.

She still feels sullen but a bit stronger now, more hopeful then she did before. Probably just the orgasm, but she is going to roll with it.

* * *

"Don't do it, Clarke. It's a bad idea."

"Oh god." Clarke says in half a whine, drawing out the last word, as if it will erase the previous sentence.

"Good morning to you too, mother." She says as she slowly lumbers her way onto the kitchen stool at the table.

She is temporarily staying with her mom, Abby, while Clarke's house is being renovated. The contractors misjudged when her house would be ready by a week or two.

She had lived in Asheville until she was about 14 when her family moved to Tennessee. Her mom moved back when Clarke was in college. 10 years later, Clarke is a successful songwriter and has the liberty of living wherever she wants. Right now she wants to be closer to her mom and her two best friends who she's known since she was a baby.

Abby gives her a soft smile. "Good morning, sweetie. I was just thinking about what you told me last night and I want to reiterate my views."

Clarke had mistakenly gushed to her mom about Lexa. She is incredibly wise and very kind, but she can also be very rigid where the rules of attraction are concerned.

"I know, I know. You told me as much last night."

"Well it bears repeating."

The blonde sneers while she nods her head up and down. She knows her mom is right, but she's not in the mood to hear it. Can't she just live in the fantasy for a day? An hour even?

Quickly trying to pull the focus off of her but still wanting to talk about Lexa, Clarke says, "Are you going to the Christmas Party at Bunnies?"

Abby shoots her a sad look and lets out a sympathetic sigh as she says, "Oh Clarke. Are you sure that's a good idea? Going to the party?"

"Jesus. You're joking right?" She says as she slams her fork down on her plate making a loud clanging sound. "Am I now not allowed to at least be friends with the woman?"

Abby throws her hands up in surrender then grabs a plate and brings it to the table. "Of course you are, honey. I just know you and your, uh," carefully choosing her next word, "predilections."

"I am an adult and am capable of behaving myself, regardless of my past history with the married variety." She takes a large swig of her water and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand before saying, "And plus, they started it!"

Abby rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she sits down to join Clarke at the table. "Fine. Just do yourself a favor and bring a date to the party."

"Okay." She says with a doubtful tone. "I'll try to find a desperate babe in 2 weeks time but I don't know."

Her eyes look off thoughtfully in the distance as she thinks of all the women she knows. Her eyes snap back to the table. She jumps up as she says, "Ooh! I'll bring Raven!"

"She's not desperate." Abby says with a scowl.

"No, but she's a babe." She says with a crooked smirk and raised eyebrow

"True." Abby agrees as she waves her fork towards her for emphasis.

* * *

"I'm bringing Octavia as well."

"Wow. A babe on both arms! Way to double fist it, Clarke." Raven snickers on the other line of the phone.

Clarke blushes as she winces from having a brief visual. "Raven! God. No. Just, no."

Raven still cackling, "Oh, relax."

"I'm setting her up with the bartender from last night."

"Ew. That guy sounded like a sleaze."

"See, that's the thing, he wasn't though. I've been wracking my brain as to why he acted the way he did. Now that I think back, it felt almost forced. It was all very weird really." She sits on the idea for a minute, pondering the possibilities.

She hadn't thought about his behavior much until now.

"Forced? Like he was pretending to like you?"

"Yeah."

"Hm. Maybe Lexa put him up to it so that she could intervene. Come to your rescue or something?"

"No." She scoffs. "Seems a bit outlandish."

"Eh. The world is full of outlandishness. Listen, I have to run but let's meet for brunch in about an hour and continue to discuss all the possibilities."

"Okay. Sounds good. Let's go to that new place."

"Perfect. See you in an hour."

* * *

Lexa slowly awakens to the smell of coffee in the air. She stretches her arms up over her head and a blonde head comes in for a kiss.

"Good morning, baby." Costia says to a groggy eyed Lexa.

"Good morning."

"You want to go out for breakfast?"

"Is the town not closed down after last night's blizzard?"

"They cleaned it up already. Come on'. Get dressed." Costia had been up for a while and was raring to go.

Lexa, still half asleep, makes her way up and out of bed and looks at her pleadingly. "I need a cup of coffee for the drive over."

Costia says with a smile, "Of course."

* * *

Lexa and Costia make it to their favorite restaurant for brunch. As a bar owner, Lexa tries to not show favorites necessarily, and give her business to every one. However, there is no helping when you just happen to like one place over the other.

They are shown to their table. Lexa sits down and does a quick scan of the diners. Her eyes stop cold when they land on the same blonde they landed on last night. She is with a beautiful brunette she only recognizes slightly.

"What is it, babe?" Costia says to Lexa before she turns to see who was at the end of her wife's stare. "Ah. Her."

Lexa brings her attention back to the table and looks at Costia with curiousness. "Her?" She says, exaggerating the tone. "Is that Jealousy I detect?"

"What? Not at all."

Lexa gives Costia a look with an arched eyebrow.

Costia picks up the menu and puts into between their eyes so that the contact is broken.

"You can't hide forever." Lexa goads her. "Do you have a problem with Clarke?"

Her voice instantly turns severe. "I haven't even met…" She brings the menu back down to the table and brings her voice to a whisper "Clarke. How could I have a problem with her? In fact, I find it strange that I haven't met her yet. You always introduce me to your fan girls right away."

Lexa throws her head back and laughs as she repeats, "Fan girls." She looks at Costia with softness in her eyes, "I didn't introduce you to her because you were anxious to leave before we got caught in the snow. I planned on doing that at the party instead."

"How do you know she is going to be at the party?"

"I invited her."

"Oh, so she will go wherever you invite her."

Lexa throws her hands up. "Whoa. Where is this coming from?"

"Oh my god, Clarke." Raven leans close to the table and says in a whisper. "You are never going to believe who is sitting 3 tables away from us!"

Clarkes closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and let's out a loud sigh. "I believe it." She slowly opens her eyes to see Raven gawking at them. "Raven, stop staring!"

"Holy mother of all things whacky, they're coming over!"

"This should be fun."

"Clarke." Lexa says as she and Costia approach their table. Clarke melts a little at the sound of her voice. "Hello again." She says with a wide smile. Clarke can tell she's a little nervous. This is a side to Lexa she did not see at all last night. She likes it.

Butterflies are welling up in Clarke's stomach at the sight of her and she doesn't care how their interaction eventually came to pass, she's just glad that it did.

She tries her best to act surprised as she turns to face the new visitors to the table. "Lexa. Hey. Nice to see you again." She means it.

She gives a warm smile to Lexa and a polite one to Costia. She struggles with the eternal social dilemma of 'do I get up and hug them or do I stay seated?' Upon catching Costia's glance, she stays seated.

"I saw that you were here and wanted to take this opportunity to say hi again and introduce you to my wife, Costia." Lexa turns to face Costia and then back to Clarke.

Clarke reaches out her hand and says, "Oh. Yeah. Okay. Great! Hey, it's nice to meet you." _That took a lot of energy._ She reaches out her hand and Costia shakes it but just barely.

Hoping to break and soon end the awkwardness that is engulfing her whole, Clarke turns to Lexa and then to Raven, "This is my friend Raven. Raven, Lexa." They shake hands. Raven shakes hands with Costia because she's also polite like that.

Lexa, apparently feeling the same suffocating tension puts them all out of their misery. "Okay, well, I hope to see you both at the Christmas party. We'd better get to breakfast, but it was nice seeing you again, Clarke, and meeting you, Raven."

Everyone continues to exchange niceties and waves goodbye.

As soon as they're out of earshot, Raven leans towards Clarke. "That was the most awkward interaction I have ever witnessed."

Clarke nods as she runs her hand through her hair and leaves it there for minute, wrenching her hair slightly. "Her wife hates me already."

Raven nods vigorously as she throws back her mimosa, "Mhm. Yes, ma'am."


End file.
